The recently published Unified Communications and Collaboration Survey Report by Steljes and SMART Technologies surveyed business decision makers at leading UK companies from a variety of industry sectors.

Only 39.6% of survey respondents stated that they have a Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) strategy with 44.6% saying they have no such strategy in place and a further 15.8% do not know whether their company has a UCC strategy.

Many respondents who have already implemented a UCC strategy have some form of visual collaboration solution for their workspaces such as video conferencing, web conferencing and interactive whiteboards, but surprisingly 33.7% of those surveyed have no visual collaboration solutions at all.

Audio visual collaboration solutions offer an extra dimension to a meeting that can make it feel more natural, thus improving staff productivity, collaboration and innovation. Bringing a team together from various locations to one physical location can often be a highly inefficient use of money, time and resources but with visual collaboration solutions such as video conferencing, interactive whiteboards and data sharing software you can still provide an ‘in-person’ experience for your team to work together in a more productive way.

Earlier this month, SMART launched their Freestorm visual collaboration solutions, a set of comprehensive business products that combine industry-leading interactive displays, intuitive collaboration software and remote collaboration tools, specifically aimed at businesses to help increase innovation, boost productivity, make better decisions and reduce costs.

SMART products make collaborating a richer visual and interactive experience. By using SMART interactive whiteboards, interactive displays and software, you can open files, applications, websites and various other forms of multimedia. Just like a traditional whiteboard you can write any notes, save them into your files and share them instantly via email with all participants seeing and contributing to your work in real time, regardless of location.

Discover how to elevate the way your teams collaborate to develop ideas, visualise strategies, solve problems and make faster decisions. Find out more about SMART Freestorm visual collaboration solutions for business!

CityIS is an accredited SMART Gold Business Partner with an in-depth understanding of visual communications for business.

On top of the sleek design and bandwidth savings, the TX9000 Series is built on a platform that will enable collaboration between various devices with participants from within a telepresence meeting room.

And to address the growing demand for video anytime, anywhere and on a variety of devices, Cisco also launched a new version of Jabber for iPad. By using Cisco Jabber for iPad, users are able to collaborate across any platform and work better together. Cisco Jabber for iPad provides high definition video conferencing and integrates seamlessly with the Cisco TelePresence product range within the enterprise. On top of existing clients that allow for Jabber on Android, iOS, Mac, Blackberry and Cisco Cius tablets, this release for iPad ensures that Cisco is making collaboration possible for today’s growing number of remote and mobile workers.

Both of these product announcements give customers a greater freedom of choice when it comes to deploying video on the network, and it also highlights Cisco’s commitment to industry standards and interoperable options so that today’s businesses can enable their workers to collaborate from any device, anytime, anywhere!

Companies Get Most from Pervasive Video Strategy

The results showed that companies with a pervasive video conferencing strategy (ie. where all employees have access to video), spend an average of $890,000 during the initial investment period  to support an average of 13,000 employees; through a combination of PC-based video solutions and room-based video conferencing. On the other hand, companies that provided video conferencing to only part of their workforce spent an average of $910,000 to support  5,600 employees.

Therefore, the companies who provided video conferencing to ALL of their workforce spent 50% less per employee ($69 v $163) than the companies who only deployed video for only some of their workforce.

Companies that adopted more video throughout their organisation saw the greatest performance improvements in the key departments of sales, marketing and customer service – all crucial to boosting revenue. As employees in these departments were given access to video, it became an increasingly important tool for engaging with new and current customers, specifically within the B2B environment. Since B2B sales are typically about demonstrating products and services, video became an essential tool for those companies to provide a more personal approach to client sales, whilst reducing the amount of travel and associated cost of traditional meetings.

Recommendations for Companies Before Deploying Video Conferencing

Although these results focus on the companies who are already using video conferencing, Aberdeen provides the following recommendations to ensure that companies plan for successful adoption from the very beginning of their video strategy:

• Focus on a video conferencing foundation that includes technical, operational, and ease of use concerns.
• Develop a roadmap for supporting remote workers with video conferencing solutions.
• Implement an employee feedback scheme to help aid adoption and further deployment.
• Aim to achieve interoperability between room-based solutions and pc-based video conferencing.
• Allign business improvement processes with video conferencing technology to see where video could be used to address inefficiencies in certain departments.
• Integrate video conferencing into your unified communications and social platforms.
• Go Mobile by enabling video conferencing on smartphones and tablets. In this post-PC era, where bring your own device to work (BYOD) is a growing trend, those companies who plan for the future will see the greatest results.

To access the full report for free,  register with Aberdeen here.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the latest developments within the Cisco TelePresence portfolio:

• Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence (Jabber Video) replaces Movi
  

Cisco announced in January that they have officially changed the product name of Cisco TelePresence Movi to Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence (Jabber Video). Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence is a soft client that extends the benefits of in-person video collaboration by broadening telepresence access to more people. Jabber Video works with a PC or Mac and a webcam or USB camera to provide high definition video communications anytime, anywhere.  Jabber Video is available in both on-premise and cloud options to meet the different needs of customers.

• TelePresence Provisioning 2.0

Cisco are expanding their multipoint offering and launching new advanced Telepresence MCU capabilities with the launch of the new MCU 4.3 software release.

Some of the benefits include:

• Ease of use: From interoperability with Cisco and multi-vendor endpoints to end user experience; conference controls & in-call menus rendered by the MCU on the main video connection are accessible via endpoint remotes or video phones.
• Larger scale video: Increased Full HD video capacity on the MCU MSE 8510.
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) Integration: Enhances video phone and ad hoc multipoint conferencing within Cisco, and with customers, colleagues, partners, and suppliers.
• Hybrid content mode: Allows maximum quality and interoperability for content sharing.

In addition to the new MCU 4.3 release, customers can get a look at Cisco’s newest MCU 5300 Series which will be previewed at Cisco Live London. This state-of-the art MCU will be the industry’s first hardware expandable appliance MCU –introducing new stacking capability to the market.

• Cisco TelePresence Touch 12

Cisco are extending Touch capabilities to the entire TelePresence endpoint portfolio with the Touch 12.

Touch 12 devices will support Cisco TelePresence System 3010, Cisco TelePresence System 3210, Cisco TelePresence System 1300 Series, Cisco TelePresence System 1100, and Cisco TelePresence System 500 Series endpoints.

PLUS See all the latest developments at Cisco Live London 2012!

Cisco Live 2012 lands in the UK this week between January 30-February 3 at the ICC London ExCel. There will be a host of demonstrations and you’ll be able to see first-hand the latest developments from the Cisco team and how you can revolutionise the way you work through the deployment of video collaboration!

Some of its exciting features include the ability to connect with three other endpoints on a video call, high-definition 1080p60 video quality and 1080p15 content sharing and a new wall mount for easy and discreet mounting.

Click here to find out more about the SX20 >

This news comes only shortly after Cisco introduced the new MX Series, their latest room-based video conferencing units.  The Cisco TelePresence MX200 and MX300 are value products within the MX Series of multipoint endpoints.  These competitively priced, easy-to-install products help turn a meeting room into a place where you can meet with colleagues and customers anywhere in the world through video communications! Offering users a high definition experience and with the ability to share content in HD, these products are designed to be set up as easily as a TV and whether you opt for the 42-inch (MX 200) or 55-inch screen (MX300), you should be ready to make the first video call in 15 minutes!

Back in a press release from October this year, Cisco announced these imminent product launches by highlighting the importance of providing small businesses with technology solutions that don’t require a large capital outlay and that can be installed and managed without a lot of IT oversight. With these latest products for small and medium sized businesses, customers can deploy multipurpose and personal endpoints and connect those endpoints to a hosted service, reducing the complexity and costs with TelePresence which have been hurdles to adoption for smaller businesses in the past. For enterprise customers, these products are also perfect for quick and easy deployment, allowing them to grow and standardise their video estate and increase usage and adoption which will ultimately boost productivity and reduce even more travel costs!

It was announced earlier this year that Cisco has a 52% share of the video communications market – making them the market leaders by some distance. With their focus now firmly on the small to medium sized market, you can only see Cisco going from strength to strength in their quest to power the new way of working through face-to-face collaboration!

Studies show that flexible working helps to increase productivity and innovation whilst boosting employee engagement and retention. In contrast to this, new research from O2 highlights how the UK’s current economic climate is preventing the introduction of flexible working practices within SME’s, with 41% of office workers feeling under pressure to be present in the office as a result of economic conditions and 27% of employees also feeling they are being prevented from flexible working by their line manager.

On the launch of a new service aimed at promoting flexible working within UK small businesses, David Plumb, O2’s General Manager for Enterprise, said: “For growing numbers of employees, work is something they do rather than a place they go. For businesses, meeting these expectations can be a challenge but getting it right can increase productivity, harness innovation, reduce cost and provide employees with a better work/life balance.”

Unified communications is more commonly seen as an integral part of the ‘new way of working’.  Despite the tough economic conditions, there are still many UK small businesses who are realising the true value of being able to collaborate anytime, anywhere. By giving staff the ability to work flexibly and remotely, these businesses are seeing an increase in productivity which is ultimately boosting the bottom line.

Video conferencing could be a key part of your unified communications strategy and could help keep your team stay connected whilst they are working remotely. Desktop video conferencing is now more affordable and easier to deploy than ever. With networks becoming better, the quality of the experience is also more superior than you’d ever imagine. Cisco TelePresence Movi is the next generation PC-based video communications experience that can be installed on your own laptop to enable you to connect face-to-face with colleagues, customers, partners and suppliers in high definition.

So maybe it’s time to implement flexible and remote working in your business? And with unified communications and video conferencing in place you can always catch up with with your peers as if you were actually in the office!

The warning from The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) comes in conjunction with new research which indicates that 50% of British SMB’s expect there to be no disruption to their business operations during the games. From the research carried out for Deloitte, a staggering 55% of London-based SMB’s do not expect the Games to impact them at all and even more surprisingly, only 14% were concerned about transport issues. Less than 10% were concerned about staff availability, according to the research, which is also alarming due to the fact that during the Vancouver 2010 Games, 28% of organisations experienced higher levels of absenteeism than normal.

Experts predict that the event will bring 11 million visitors to the capital, resulting in an extra three million journeys on the busiest days. The influx of tourists, athletes, officials and sponsors in and around London next summer offers a massive opportunity for SMB’s to capture extra business but it is also sure to put an almighty strain on an already stretched transport system.

Dr Helen Hill, policy director at the LCCI, warns businesses to plan ahead, “The Olympic Route Network will have a direct impact on some businesses and they must get to grips with the plans to ensure they can get their staff to work and their deliveries and services to their premises” she said.

With the transport system being put under additional pressure, London is sure to come to a standstill on a regular basis during the Games, which will cause delays for commuters and staff travelling in and around the city for meetings.

To prevent business being brought to a standstill, a number of companies are investing in video communications prior to the Olympic Games. Video conferencing and telepresence are being implemented as a way of replacing face-to-face meetings, which results in a quick return on investment from travel savings but also boosts productivity through increased collaboration.

By deploying video throughout your business, you’ll not only be able to ensure that you’re equipped to navigate the challenges that the games will present but also be able to react quickly to take advantage of the business opportunities that are available to SMB’s!

To check if you’re ready for the Olympic Games next year, why not assess your preparation for the games, read Cisco’s Games Readiness Checklist and make sure you can go that extra mile for customers during London 2012!

Video conferencing and in particular telepresence systems, have long been regarded as exclusive to the Fortune 500 and more commonly used by the more senior executives within these larger global organisations. Both Cisco and Polycom have acquired video conferencing software companies recently, and have focussed on making video communications more accessible to the masses. Video communications adoption is increasing in response to several converging trends; video quality is improving as the costs are declining, internet speeds and networks are now able to offer an improved collaboration experience for remote workers and video conferencing is replacing travel in tough economic conditions.

Within the larger enterprise, the industry is starting to see video deployed across all levels of the organisation – not just in the boardroom or in the CEO’s office. More and more companies are starting to see the collaboration benefits of desktop video endpoints and software-based video conferencing platforms.

Products like the Cisco TelePresence EX Series now means that staff across all levels and departments can visually communicate without having to step away from the desk, whether they are joining a meeting in a telepresence suite or collaborating with a colleague on the other side of the world using a webcam. Cisco TelePresence Movi enables remote workers to stay visually connected to colleagues, customers, partners and suppliers regardless of location by simply using their laptop or tablet.

Cisco announced this week that they are taking further strides forward to extend their telepresence technology beyond enterprise meeting rooms, by introducing a free client application for ad hoc participants to download. Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence, is a free application designed to let just about anyone with a PC or Mac join a telepresence session. An enterprise or small business with an in-house or hosted telepresence capability can create an invitation that can be sent to participants by email and includes a link to download the Jabber Video software and join the meeting. Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence will go into testing soon and is expected to have a launch date early next year.

This move itself clearly outlines Cisco’s strategy to make video more accessible, and it also point’s towards a clear demand for desktop video conferencing. By making high-definition video communications available to anyone, whether through deploying more endpoints or through video conferencing software on desktop PCs – companies will benefit from a more productive, efficient and happier workforce.

The CDP Global 500 report, which examines carbon reduction activities within the the world’s largest public corporations, also found that 45% of the companies surveyed are now reducing and reporting reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions, compared to just 19% last year.  It was particularly interesting that the results of the report were discussed in a live broadcast to 10 cities around the world including Mumbai, London, New York, Sao Paulo and Berlin via Cisco TelePresence, the next generation of video conferencing technology that cuts carbon emissions by reducing the need for business travel. The quality of the Cisco TelePresence experience is demonstrated in this live event, check it out here – I think you’ll agree the quality is fantastic!

A growing number of companies, especially those with global locations, are turning to video communications to reduce the need for travel. In doing so, these businesses are not only making huge savings by reducing the costs associated with travel but from an environmental perspective, they are reducing their carbon footprint and becoming more environmentally friendly!

Cisco, as a company, are setting the standard for other companies to follow. Not only do Cisco help other companies reduce their carbon footprint through their innovative TelePresence solutions, but they had the top disclosure score in the Information Technology sector this year and in 2009 and 2010, Cisco were also #1 and #2, respectively.

According to the results of the survey, the IT sector seems well engaged on carbon reporting, despite the perception that corporate social responsibilty (CSR) initiatives are not given enough focus within the world’s leading companies. These results support the fact that carbon reduction is becoming more important with 95% of Global 500, IT-sector companies responding to the CDP survey which is a higher percentage than any other sector.

Whether the leading global companies are simply concerned about the bottom line and the deployment of video communications as a green initiative is just another benefit on top of the fact it saves money is still open to debate but the results of this survey show that the world’s leading organisations are working smarter and the environment can only benefit from that!

How green are you?

Each time you take a flight, board the train for a business meeting or drive for your daily commute to the office, there is a negative impact on the environment, not to mention the drain on finances and your productivity.

Calculate the impact of your business travel to see if there is a better way of working?

Most recently, Transport Minister, Norman Baker called on commuters and businesses in London to think differently about travel during next summer’s Olympic Games. He encouraged businesses to look at flexible options for their staff and consider allowing employees to work from home or change shift patterns so that not all staff are travelling in and out of work at the same time. He also encouraged businesses to consider using video conferencing to avoid travel.

Businesses need to think ahead NOW to avoid having staff stuck in traffic or being left unable to get into work because of transport chaos. Productivity doesn’t have to suffer because of the games, there are various tools available to businesses that will allow them to work smarter and still be able to stay connected to colleagues and customers. During the Vancouver 2010 Games, 28% of organisations experienced higher levels of absenteeism than normal (BT, Vancouver Research, 2010). By ensuring staff have the ability to work remotely through various communication tools, you can minismise the effect of absenteeism throughout your organisation.

Video communciations have long been considered a ‘nice to have’ communication tool but a growing number of businesses are using video to keep employees connected. By integrating video into your unified communications strategy, you will be able to avoid the gridlocked traffic that London will experience or the increased air travel costs that will undoubtedly be imposed on travellers into London during the games. Whether your company is based in London or you simply have staff who regularly do business in the city – NOW is the time to consider video communications!

Cisco TelePresence provides an immersive high-definition video experience that makes you feel as you are sitting across the table from your colleagues, customers, partners and suppliers.  Immersive video quality doesn’t have to come at a huge cost;  Cisco are also giving customers the opportunity to take advantage of the Easylease 0% financing option until July 2012.

As a Cisco TelePresence Video Master Authorised Technology Provider (ATP), CityIS are talking to a number of UK based companies who are assessing the impact that the Olympics will have on their daily operations.  To check if you’re ready for London 2012 why not assess your preparation for the games, read Cisco’s Games Readiness Checklist and get ahead now!